Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from David Sales.

No declarations of interest were made.

To agree the minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting held on 22^nd May 2024.

RESOLVED – That – the public minutes and the non-public summary of the meeting held on 22 May 2024 were approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received the actions log and, during the discussion, the following points were noted:

a)    In reference to Action 2022-1: Lodges: Income Generation. Officers indicated the lodges in Epping Forest would be included in the project plan going to Committee in September and several condition surveys had been carried out on lodges to understand capital funding requirements to help prioritise the backlog of work.

b)    Officers reported on the workshops that had been held, in relation to Action 2023-2: Target Operating Model Review, to collect staff feedback; the feedback would be reviewed by the end of the Summer, early Autumn, and Officers would make some recommendations to the Committee.

c)     It was confirmed that Action 2023-3: The Warren Battery Storage Facility Introduction had been installed and completed.

d)    Officers confirmed there was now wi-fi at Coulsdon Common and Action 2023-4: Digital Enablement had been completed.

e)    In relation to Action 2023-5: Corporate Plan and Strategies, Officers explained the related Committee Business Plan needed to come to Committee in the Autumn.

f)      Officers provided an update on Action 2024-7: Funding, explaining that specific targets and priority areas would be identified, drafted and once agreed by the Committee, would be incorporated into the five-year business plan. The Chairman suggested merging actions relating to income generation and project prioritisation and the action plan.

g)    Officers reported that a full, detailed risk register would be presented to Committee in September, in reference to Action 2024-8: Risk Management; the Chairman confirmed that Sub-Action 1 could be closed.

h)    The Committee received an update on Action 2024-9: Phone-In Reporting Service by Officers who informed that they were investigating services and making comparisons; further information would be provided at the next Committee meeting.

i)      On Action 2024-11: The Commons, Officers indicated a paper on apprenticeships would be

Report of the Town Clerk.

RESOLVED – That, Members agreed to grant delegated authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Epping Forest & Commons Committee, to consider and approve the appointments to the following consultative groups, following recommendations by the Natural Environment Director (based on the existing skills audit):

• Epping Forest Consultative Group;
• Ashtead Common Consultative Group;
• Coulsdon Commons, West Wickham & Spring Park Consultative Group;
• Burnham Beeches and Stoke Common Consultative Group; and
• Deer Management Oversight Group

The Committee to receive a report of the Epping Forest Heritage Trust.

The Committee received a report and presentation from Peter Lewis of the Epping Forest Heritage Trust.

During the discussion, the following points were made:

a)    The Chairman emphasised the usefulness of the Epping Forest charity’s partnership with the Heritage Trust as the Trust were able to apply for complementary grants that the charity was unable to apply for.

b)    The Chairman noted financial support and other benefits in kind made available to the Epping Forest Heritage Trust from the City of London Corporation, including the City Bridge Foundation’s award of £67,500 over two years (£33,000 and £34,500 respectively) in March 2023 toward a 0.4 FTE Conservation Officer to enable a more diverse community of volunteers to support Epping Forest, as well as associated project and management costs.

c)     The Chairman also highlighted the Central Grants Programme award of £14,700 in February 2024 for a one-year bespoke community engagement exercise to increase and involve the diversity of people attending Epping Forest. The Chairman has also recently supported an application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

d)    The Committee considered how the Trust was measuring a sense of belonging and stewardship to the Forest. Peter Lewis responded that feedback was gathered from every session but accepted the need for more work to be done of analysing visitors’ connection to the Forest.

e)    It was asked whether employer days were advertised to Corporation staff and suggested making partner organisations and contractors aware of this. Officers responded this had been done at The Commons on several occasions, with less at Epping Forest due to staff resourcing constraints.

f)      Discussed what work was being done with schools. The Deputy Chairman advised that through the Natural Environment Division’s learning team 40,000 pupils had been involved in outdoor learning programmes in the last year, mostly funded by

Report of the Executive Director, Environment.

The Committee received the Assistant Director’s update which summarised Epping Forest’s progress against objectives since May 2024 with updates of note.

During the discussion, the following points were noted:

a)    Members identified an error with the financial year figures of the golf course.

b)    The Committee enquired on the feedback to the new model staff away day. Officers reported it was well received.

c)     It was suggested a deep dive be done on the Field Studies Council at High Beach on how that linked into the Corporation’s wider education strategy.

d)    The Chairman noted that Epping Forest District Council were creating master plans for specific sites for development across the district as part of their Local Plan. He had been working with officers to formulate a response to the Epping South development which would have a significant impact on Epping Forest if not mitigated. 

e)    Officers reported, following requests for background on rough sleeping and drug use, that the south of the Forest did have issues with this and joint operations were being carried out with the Metropolitan Police to sweep out the detritus. Further work was planned for September.

f)      Committee Members discussed how effective re-housing efforts had been. Officers explained that this was a local authority responsibility, however, they worked closely with agencies to support re-homing rough sleepers, but noted drug use was a much bigger issue.

RECEIVED.

Report of the Executive Director, Environment.

The Committee received the Assistant Director’s update which summarised activities across The Commons between January and March 2024.

RECEIVED.

The Committee received a report which described a proposal for hosting a two-day conference in association with Ancient Tree Forum (ATF) on biodiversity and conservation of veteran trees.

During the discussion, the following points were noted:

a)    The Committee considered whether there were opportunities for income generation. Officers explained they were looking at sponsorship of the event once the venue was confirmed.

b)    Members suggested reaching out to the Royal Household through the Remembrancer’s Office as it may be a matter of interest to His Majesty The King.

RESOLVED – That, Members agreed to Officers from Burnham Beeches and City Commons working with the ATF to host a conference at Burnham Beeches on the biodiversity and conservation of veteran trees on a cost neutral basis.

Report of the Natural Environment Director.

The Committee received a report that updated on actions being taken and planned to remove Wanstead Park Grotto from the Heritage at Risk Register (HARR) and ensure that is has a funded Conservation Management Plan in place which would protect it for the future. The report also summarised the work to date, the current position, the options and confirmed that the repair of the Grotto would enter the gateway process as a project from Autumn 2024.

RESOLVED – That, Members:

• Approved the continuation and completion of a Restoration and Maintenance Plan (RMP) for the Grotto, which would identify the specific repairs and maintenance regime that would support its removal from the Heritage at Risk Register, as per Option A in this report.
• Authorised officers to secure listed building consent for the delivery of the repairs identified in the RMP. The activities were fully funded through the Cyclical Works Programme.
• Advised officers on the further pursuit of Option B, namely the reinstatement of original fabric and restoration of features within the structure and enhancement of the immediate setting of the Grotto.
• Noted the repair of the Grotto will enter the gateway process as a project from Autumn 2024 and would be subject to the Committee’s scrutiny, as per corporate project procedure.

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Natural Environment Director.

The Committee received a report that compared the revenue outturn for services overseen by the Committee in 2023/24 with the final budget for the year. Overall, there was an underspend of £50,000 for the services overseen by the Committee compared with the final budget for the year.

During the discussion, the following points were noted:

a)    The Chairman indicated the formatting of the reports remained unsatisfactory to facilitate good charity governance and scrutiny. Officers explained that the Charities Review would start to deliver many of the changes requested by the Committee in September 2024, but noted that whilst a deficit funding model applied, some restrictions on the reporting format would be difficult to change. 

b)    The Committee raised the issue of significant variance on year-end recharges and the need to review the governance and accountability in prioritising work in the backlog. Officers reported that different options were being finalised regarding how to allocate recharges for the financial year and would go before Members for agreement.

c)     Members queried whether the Corporation’s asset maintenance ‘bow-wave’ was included on top of the financial figures behind the budget position for 2023/24. Officers explained that £133m was the projection of the scheme for 2024/25 and future financial years.

d)    It was suggested by a Member it would be useful to have a paragraph in the charities review outlining assets or items that had previously been relinquished to the benefit of the City of London Corporation rather than the charities. The Chairman highlighted that a position had been agreed where income generated by the charity could now be retained by the charity for a specific purpose and opportunities to raise money would be ring fenced back to areas for agreement as part of the charity review.

e)    It was reiterated by the Committee that the

It was highlighted by the Chairman that the Terms of Reference for the Epping Forest Consultative Committee in the agenda pack was outdated and the new version could be found on the Members SharePoint page.

Members also highlighted that the Deer Management Oversight Group Terms of Reference was incorrect, there were five members of the group, not four.

A Member of the Committee raised concerns about the visual condition of some oak trees in the Forest. Officers indicated they would investigate the problem.

MOTION: The following matters relate to business under the remit of the Court of Common Council acting for the City Corporation as charity Trustee, to which Part VA and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 public access to meetings provisions do not apply. The following items contain sensitive information which it is not in the best interests of the charity to consider in a public meeting (engaging similar considerations as under paragraphs 3 and 5 of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act) and will be considered in non-public session.

RESOLVED – That, the following matters relate to business under the remit of

the Court of Common Council acting for the City Corporation as charity Trustee,

to which Part VA and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 public

access to meetings provisions do not apply. The following items contain sensitive information which it is not in the best interests of the charity to consider in a public meeting (engaging similar considerations as under paragraphs 3 and 5 of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act) and will be considered in non-public session.

To agree the non-public minutes of the previous meeting held on 22^nd May 2024.

RESOLVED, that – the non-public minutes, subject to amendments, of the meeting held on 22 May 2024 were approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received the Action Log.

Report of the Natural Environment Director.

The Committee received a report of the Natural Environment Director.

There were no questions.

There were no items of business that the Chairman considered urgent.

Report of the Natural Environment Director.

The Committee received a report of the Natural Environment Director.